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SSG's Hasbro Star Wars Interview at SDCC 2013

At this year's Comic Con International in San Diego, we were given the opportunity to interview the heads of Hasbro's Star Wars brand, Derryl DePriest and Jeff Labovitz. The 10-minute interview was packed with conversation despite the Hasbro booth being a madhouse, to one side of us was Ray Park signing autographs to a giant crowd, the other side was a group of costumed Star Wars characters with the life-sized Han Solo Carbonite, and in between was the giant Angry Birds Star Wars 2 Telepods interactive display. But Derryl, Jeff and I powered through the distractions and insanity, Jeff displaying an especially deft manner when a convention-goer tried to hand Jeff a camera to snap a photo during our interview and Jeff shut that down without missing a beat. So here are the fruits of those labors.

JEDITRICKS: Alrighty, so-

DERRYL DePRIEST: Come in close over here, let's step away from there, yeah.

JEDITRICKS: Okay, so I'll with start with-

DERRYL DePRIEST: We can talk about secrets this way.

JEDITRICKS: (Evil laugh). Class 1 fleet vehicles and 2 figures. Are those gone or are they on hiatus?

JEFF LABOVITZ: Yeah, so we phased them out because we introduced the new line of vehicles for 19 dollars. We took the... as you know, the larger scale 3 3/4" vehicles were becoming a tough price point. So Mark Boudreaux, in all of his wisdom, created this smaller, tighter line for 20 dollars. So that's really solving that solution for kids. A great vehicle play, their scaled really well for the figures. So there isn't a need for that lower price point vehicle.

JEDITRICKS: What happens to smaller vehicles then? Do they just become exclusives or do they just kind of phase out?

DERRYL DePRIEST: Yeah, so they can, they'll be available for exclusives and we don't preclude their return, someday, to the line. The focus right now though is on just those great 20 dollar vehicles. All the hero vehicles.

JEDITRICKS: Ok, so that actually reminds me. The current class 2 fleet, you guys have, you know, decades of vintage class 2 library going back a long time. What's going to happen to those molds and is there any chance of seeing continuation of that quality and size and detail even if it's exclusives or something else?

JEFF LABOVITZ: So a lot of those vehicles we can pick and choose from and continue them as possible exclusives in vintage series packaging. So we can make a lot of use out of a lot of that tooling by sprinkling those in throughout the line.

DERRYL DePRIEST: Absolutely, and another example of that is what we're doing with Toys R Us with the Republic Gunship. That piece meets the needs and collectors alike. So we'll keep that going.

JEDITRICKS: What about that style for new vehicles though?

JEFF LABOVITZ: The larger size?

JEDITRICKS: Well, it doesn't have to be larger size, just larger than the current line... you know, the class 2 from 2 years ago.

JEFF LABOVITZ: Yeah, for the time being, for the foreseen future the vehicles for 20 dollars will be about the size of the ones that are out there now, over the next couple waves.

JEDITRICKS: Okay, so that's what we'll be seeing.

JEFF LABOVITZ: It's a very kid-friendly, mom-friendly, dad-friendly price point. Let's kids get into the world of so critically important vehicle play for Star Wars.

JEDITRICKS: Switching gears a little, you guys showed off one of your new Saga Legends: Mission Series, the Darth Maul figure. Are there going to be other... is that going to open the door for Clone Wars, realistic or non-realistic, like Pong Krell or even Spider Maul?

JEFF LABOVITZ: No, there won't be that many sprinkled into the line, just one or two, and just the big, heavy-hitter, A-listers. So we'll be focusing on the best from the saga.

JEDITRICKS: Ok. This is a hypothetical question, with Star Wars Rebels, the new animated show coming out next year, a little more than a year, would you guys, if it was only up to you, decide to do them as animated figures or as realistic figures?

DERRYL DePRIEST: Well, we're working through Lucasfilm on that right now. So those decisions, we're not gonna talk about that-

JEDITRICKS: That's why I framed it as a hypothetical, we know you can't talk about it in literal terms.

JEFF LABOVITZ: We love the idea of a new show. We're excited about any new entertainment opportunities.

JEDITRICKS: You guys showed off the new Mara Jade figure. When that was originally polled it was shown as Mara Jade Skywalker in her green Jedi outfit and it won under that. But when you guys showed it off, it's her classic catsuit that has already had 2 figures done of it. Is there any chance of seeing the other version of it done in the near-ish future?

DERRYL DePRIEST: Our design team made a decision that the best Mara Jade, that they felt that they wanted to do was this version. Which is the ultimate version. It's a decision that they basically made. We understood that there would be a little bit of fan questioning on that. It was something that was discussed at the time but we let them [the design team] win out because they felt that they could deliver that figure the best.

JEDITRICKS: So, some figures from early this year and a little late last year in the Movie Heroes and Clone Wars line, including light-up Anakin and SandTrooper, blast-apart Battle Droid, etc. Are we going to see U.S. release of those at all, in any- none at all?

JEFF LABOVITZ: It's unlikely.

DERRYL DePRIEST: It's unlikely. Though, we're doing with the Darth Vader Evolution pack this year, we're using that same light-up figure [Derryl means the Birth of Vader pack]. It's possible that those figures could be candidates for future packs. Right now they're not in the works. We wouldn't leave out any possibility. It's just like all of our vehicle tooling will exist and will remain in rotation as something that we can use to fill out a pack. But right now they're not in the works.

JEDITRICKS: Some collectors are worried that the 6-inch line might cannibalize resources, financial or design, or just attention from the 3.75-inch line, which has run a long time. For people that aren't going to be invested in the 6-inch line, are they still going to be looking forward to a robust regular line of The Black Series and beyond?

DERRYL DePRIEST: Three and three quarters, and that's why we have both lines out this year is to really, first of all gauge interest and demand on a totally new collectable scale in 6-inch. But also satisfy those fans who have been with us a long time in three and three quarters. So we're actually going to learn a heck of a lot in the next six months or so on what fans are telling us in their interest, or relative interest, in one or both or neither of these lines. So the future down the road, that has yet to be written, that has yet to be mapped. But we believe very strongly that we've got a strong fan base in both scales who will show us that the future can be in one and both of these.

JEFF LABOVITZ: And one doesn't preclude the other, so there's plenty of room to do both, there's certainly not a resourcing
issue.

JEDITRICKS: There's a wall between them budgetarily, then, right? Like, one budget's not going to suck energy out of the other budget.

DERRYL DePRIEST: No no no no no, not at all. They're treated as separate lines. The future of all our lines are really dependent upon the performance that is near-term and ahead of us. And resources are assigned based on that. Assuming that we're not selling to the same audience and stretching the wallets of the same customers who are forced to make a choice - assuming that we have found a vibe for a new line - then it shouldn't be an issue continuing both.

JEDITRICKS: So, changing gears again, the Naboo Fighter from last year's class 2 vehicles looked like a really great piece but a lot of collectors missed out on it because of just distribution issues, is there any way we might be seeing that in the near future?

JEFF LABOVITZ: It's not planned but we are anxious to try to get that one back out there. We know that that didn't get into all the hands that it needed to.

DERRYL DePRIEST: That's on the short list of ones to find a willing retail partner, say for an exclusive.

JEFF LABOVITZ: It'd be a great exclusive.

JEDITRICKS: Definitely. This year we have a repainted Slave 1 and a giant AT-AT but, of course, we don't have a new-mold big vehicle. Is there a future for new molds in this line still, of that size? And secondarily, was the MTT's performance an issue, whether it was negative or positive?

JEFF LABOVITZ: No, the MTT did well for us, and with all the entertainment coming there's got to be room to do some nice big vehicles in there. We love that scale, we love the heft of them and the great play, so I don't see us walking from that any time soon.

DERRYL DePRIEST: Not at all, and if anything this year is one of the quieter years for Star Wars entertainment so it didn't make sense to kind of die on the sword with a large vehicle here so it's just a matter of time. And, if anything, Star Wars over time has proven itself to... that that large vehicle is a core part of any year with a big entertainment story.

JEDITRICKS: Thank you. So on Darth Vader figures for three and three quarter, the past five years or so there has been a change in the soft goods materials to something that I like to refer to as "chiffon". It's see-through, it's gossamer. It doesn't really convey the sense of body that the rest of the figure carries. Other characters using black outfits like the Emperor, they don't have it as bad as that. Why is that?

JEFF LABOVITZ: I don't know.

DERRYL DePRIEST: I don't know, what I will say is that sometimes our soft goods can be inconsistent and change because it depends on sourcing, right? What material is available from our suppliers at any time. It's not always entirely predictable or it will be a guarantee the same material will be used on every batch. So really it's a little bit of an uncertainty. If a change was made I'm sure it was the intention of producing great aesthetics, like the figure looks good. Without really worrying whether something is see-through or not because we don't think kids will really pay that much attention.

JEDITRICKS: The thing is, also, it doesn't pose well because it's so light it comes up. But that's secondary, sorry. So, before the public announcement of the 3-D releases for Episodes II and III being shelved, did you guys know that you were going to have to pull your line or change your plans over that?

DERRYL DePRIEST: Before we knew.. That's impossible to answer.

JEDITRICKS: No no no, what I mean is, before it was publicly announced

DERRYL DePRIEST: Oh, before it was publicly announced.

JEDITRICKS: Did you know or were you already planning to scale back or..?

DERRYL DePRIEST: Actually we did very little to change our plans. (laughs)

JEDITRICKS: Really?

DERRYL DePRIEST: Yeah. So once... we had already designed a line around the heroic moments of, largely around Episode III-

JEFF LABOVITZ: And Darth Vader.

DERRYL DePRIEST: And Darth Vader. So it's the story of Anakin to Vader. Once the news came out and Lucasfilm told us. We looked at our line and said these are really-

JEFF LABOVITZ: It's a great line!

DERRYL DePRIEST: -some fantastic items that we've never done before in Star Wars and we're always looking for the stories. Like the Anakin to Vader 12-inch figure is an amazing figure. And so too is our roleplay. So we really went forward with confidence and we said Darth Vader is the most iconic villain. He's wrapped around the product line, the line is built around him. We feel good about our line going forward. So really it didn't change our plans much at all.

JEDITRICKS: So you guys have interplay, like Skylanders, with your Angry Birds Telepods. Any idea if you might want to do that with your figures as well?

JEFF LABOVITZ: Yeah, the future is wide open for Telepods. Angry Birds Star Wars 2 is just the start, so we can definitely envision a scenario where the technology is intertwined with figures, vehicles, you name it. Anything.

DERRYL DePRIEST: Anything, it's a great platform for Hasboro.

JEFF LABOVITZ: It's an elegant, simple technology that let's you merge the best of both worlds.

DERRYL DePRIEST: Excellent Question.

JEDITRICKS: Alrighty, Thank you.

- -

And that's it. Thanks to everybody at Hasbro and Hunter who made this interview possible.

Interesting that they see the $20 Class II as the replacement for the $20 Class I. I quite liked the line - either with one figure or two - so it's too bad they won't be continuing it.

The Clone Wars answer is a bit of a letdown. But at least they ARE working on Rebels stuff in some capacity, so that's good news.

It's good to have an answer on Mara Jade, even if it isn't necessarily what most people would like it to be.

At least they're open to the idea of re-releasing the non-US figures. I guess I'll have to start bugging them about Boba's backpack.

While it's good that the 6" line doesn't share a budget with the 3 3/4" line, I find it interesting that they'll be looking at these lines to gauge fan interest. The Black Series basic figures so far aren't the most enticing choices to long-time collectors, and there are still issues to work out (like distribution) that don't have anything to do with fan interest. So I really, really hope they show wave 3 of the 3 3/4" line this weekend at CEII and knock it out of the park.

The big vehicle answer is actually very strong.

Interesting that they didn't alter the line after the 3D releases were cancelled. It seems that the loss of Droid Factory caused more issues than anything else this year.

Also very interesting that they're so receptive to the idea of integrating more Teleopods-esque features in the future. Often when Derryl says "great question," you're onto something they've been planning or at least discussing.

Doesn't the future of the lines still depend on distribution? It's been a year and a half since the Phantom Menace vintage line came out and I still haven't found any line since. Star Wars racks at all my stores have been empty for at least 6 months.

Doesn't the future of the lines still depend on distribution? It's been a year and a half since the Phantom Menace vintage line came out and I still haven't found any line since. Star Wars racks at all my stores have been empty for at least 6 months.

The Black Series, Saga Legends, etc. should be a new start for distribution. They're starting to hit now, so we'll see how this goes.

I was disappointed on that Mara answer, what's the point of giving a specific outfitted character a win if it's going to be superseded?

Also very interesting that they're so receptive to the idea of integrating more Teleopods-esque features in the future. Often when Derryl says "great question," you're onto something they've been planning or at least discussing.

At an earlier point in the show, I suggested the idea to him and he gave me the knowing laugh and "what an interesting idea" type of sound, so I think we may have hit it on the head.

Originally Posted by sith_killer_99

Good interview! Thank you JT.

You are super welcome!

Originally Posted by Darth Metalmute

Doesn't the future of the lines still depend on distribution? It's been a year and a half since the Phantom Menace vintage line came out and I still haven't found any line since. Star Wars racks at all my stores have been empty for at least 6 months.

Sort of yes and sort of no. The current line's health will depend on recognition which will be affected by distribution, but if they're just biding time until we get to entertainment then the entertainment really will take on that weight.

Originally Posted by Beast

No 6" Series questions? Disappointing.

I asked readers for 5 months what questions they'd like me to ask, and that line wasn't really among them. You could have posted some and I probably would have asked them, but I am not feeling this line personally so I didn't think of any questions on my own to ask - I had a very small window of time to get an interview done, there weren't any questions off the top of my head, they were all prepared by the readers.

I can't force JediTricks to ask about things he clearly doesn't care about.

That's BS, I asked questions the readers posted regardless of my interest level in them. There wasn't a compelling 6" question in the list beyond the one I asked about cannibalizing from the line, had there been I probably would have asked it. You don't need to "force" me to ask them, all you have to do is participate - it says here you've posted in that thread over the last half a year... zero times.

Originally Posted by JabbaJohn

The Black Series, Saga Legends, etc. should be a new start for distribution. They're starting to hit now, so we'll see how this goes.

At Target, TBS comes up under the TVC entry, the SKU in their system is the same.

There wasn't a compelling 6" question in the list beyond the one I asked about cannibalizing from the line, had there been I probably would have asked it.

That was an important question IMO, as it gives better insight into the possible future of the line. It seems to me that Hasbro has the resources dedicated to the line with possibility to expand IF people get behind it. They seem cautiously optimistic, but it's impossible to know what the future will bring. If these things hang around warming pegs there isn't going to be much of a future. If they sell and don't cannibalize the 3.75 inch line then we could see some great stuff.

My HOPE is that they keep it limited. A flood of these at $20 a pop will not bode well. I'd like to see maybe a dozen to a dozen and a half figures a year, plus maybe one or two vehicles.

Also they need to stick to the core characters. Though personally I'd like to see all of the Imperial bad guys and Bounty Hunters I expect that is asking too much. I don't suppose too many people besides me want to see AT-AT Drivers and TIE Pilots and Death Star Trooper in 6 inches, but it would put a HUGE grin on my face.

I left the 3.75 inch line a long time ago, mostly because I refuse to put down $10 a figure for the short guys, especially when they put out so many every year.

I am willing to put down $20 a figure for larger scale figures especially if they only put out 4 waves of 4 figures a year.

It's a very kid-friendly, mom-friendly, dad-friendly price point. Let's kids get into the world of so critically important vehicle play for Star Wars.

I'd like to throw some mad props to Labovitz for not going the sexist route there and assuming all parents are moms.

The Mara answer is, well, not to sound too complain-y, but I can't imagine a lot of people getting excited about such polls in the future if it's clear that the results won't necessarily be honored. It's absurd that they recognize the poll clearly indicated a different, never-made version of the character, but they made a supposed "ultimate" version of a previously-made (twice over) costume that didn't get much interest--and they have no plans to make the one that everyone thought they were voting for. It's like Lando Calrissian in Coruscant Guard Disguise (from Shadows of the Empire) swept the poll, but they decided they knew more about what we want that we do, and gave us yet another blue Bespin Lando instead. If people knew that the poll was for a character and not a specific costume, would Mara have even won? I personally have no interest in buying her a third time for double-digit prices, and she's not going to sell to kids who don't know her at all.

it will be interesting to see what big vehicles they design and release in the coming years with the advent of new animated TV entertainment as well as live action theatrical releases.

Depending on what they come up with, I might have a renewed interest in the large vehicle releases.

In the last few years, I skipped out on the MTT and the Republic Attach Shuttle. I was pretty much done collecting by the time these came out and got pretty burned out on collecting in general since it stopped being fun and became more of an obsession. Getting up early on Saturday morning to watch the walk-running of the nerds at Target and TRU just became... Eh.

Also, good to know that 6" won't be cannibalizing the 3.75" line. I'm guessing things will run pretty much like they did when Hasbro had the 3.75" line AND the 12" line from 1996-2005.

I sense another question coming based on their answer to the Mara Jade question. Personally I don't care about Mara Jade, but it seems weird that they would allow their design team to essentially override the fan choice poll. It makes the fan choice polls kind of pointless.

Interesting that the MTT apparently sold well enough for Hasbro. So I guess the dream isn't dead yet for the Sail Barge.

I heard him tell someone the same thing on Wednesday night, so the message is out there and is going to get stronger.

I no logner think the vehicle makes sense as a mass-market toy. Look at the custom I posted months ago, that guy put everything into it and it still wasn't big enough, yet it also didn't DO anything, it was just a playset and playsets don't work in this market. Take the legs off the big AT-AT and stick 2 sails on the top, paint it brown, and you'll see why this thing won't work at market - it's not big enough, it doesn't do anything, there's not much room inside for both Jabba and his minions, not a lot of space on top for battles.

In one of the other SDCC interviews, DDP said something about them testing the Sail Barge with kids and it not testing well. So that makes me think they at least put together a basic prototype. I think you might be right that we will probably never see this toy and some of that I blame on the Sail Barge Petition that ran on most of the fan sites. They were hoping to get 10,000 signatures by January 31, 2013 and they couldn't even get 3000 signatures to support the toy. So it's possible that only a few vocal collectors actually want this and there's not enough support from the adult collector market to convince Hasbro to take the risk. Especially with it not testing well with kids.

I'm pretty sure the guys who conceived of that poll probably expected to get to 10,000 signatures easily, so it's kind of sad that they couldn't even get a third of that.

I think it's also worth noting that Kenner wouldn't even touch the Sail Barge while ROTJ was at the peak of its popularity.

Anyways, I think most people want so much out of a Sail Barge toy that, even if Hasbro were to make it, it would be nothing but a disappointment on every level.

I dunno if that's fair, even 2000 signatures would be a big deal for something like this, but the reality is that they could get 100,000 signatures and if Hasbro can't find a good likelihood for making a profit on it, they still wouldn't make it. What does the sail barge do as a vehicle? Not much, it basically just blows up after a fight scene on the top. What would a kid do with that, aside from cramming figures into it?

German fan site StarWars-Figuren posted their Q&A, but, well, it's in German. Jeff Labovitz and Jin Han answered the questions - Derryl did not. Google gives this translation, slightly cleaned up by me:

The Mission Series Darth Maul shown at SDCC is not to everyone's taste (aesthetics/articulation). Can we hope for a realistic cyborg Maul?

Hasbro says they have the character well made, it is realistic for them, because the realistic template does not actually exist. Thus, they are very close to the original.

Is there a chance for a repack of the Imperial Navy Commander (possibly TVC 2 Pack)?

Not at this time, but he will come back.

The Black Series 41st Elite Corps Clone Trooper seems to be a wrong "color scheme". Has Hasbro used another, largely unknown, source or simply made a mistake?

They will correct this error before the figure appears officially. The variant shown so far is thus not to be available commercially.
The Imperial officer from the scanning crew pack has what it looks like the legs (or at least the lower leg) of the last Death Star Troopers. It is thus bigger than most Imperials. Why were these legs chosen? Was that intentional?

They had no answer to this question. But it looks like it at this time.

No chance for more The Old Republic characters?
The TOR characters from the TVC are among the most wanted by collectors. In addition, the fans would like to complete their collections with characters such as TOR Sith Trooper, Eleena Daru, Satele Shan etc..
Does Hasbro see the great fan demand?

There are none planned.

Madalorians are very popular among collectors. Will we see Madalorians from Clone Wars in realistic style in the Black Series?

Not in 2014.

Are a more planned Clone Wars Characters in TBS?

Only very few.

Will Germans get the chance to get a Falcon released in Germany? (Vintage)

In coming years, perhaps, but not in a vintage box.

Does Hasbro plan that the 6" series to bring in the collectors and produce 3 3/4" figures only for kids?

Super articulated figures will continue in the 3 3/4 scale.

With new films coming as of 2015, will we see OT figures (TBS style articulation) in the basic line or does Hasbro want it to be in 2015 Episode VII year?

This question must be answered early. I received a question in what we think what Hasbro should do. Also OT figures offer a clear reaction from us.

Have you ever thought of making some "EU" or between the film versions of Luke, Han, and Leia?

No.

Could you give me some advice? At sometime over the next year, I would like to buy an X-Wing for my children. The current TVC X-Wing is too big for kids. Should I find an old POTF2 X-Wing online or is there The Possibility did Hasbro might bring an X-Wing out in the Class II vehicle line?

Possible that this could appear again.

Will we see any OT inspired Class I vehicles?

No, this series was stopped. No more Class I. At least not until the movie years.

It's too bad did the 3D versions of the OT were canceled, but I'm sure you had a lot of great items lined up for the 3D releases. As we've seen at recent shows, you have a number of packs that were made for AOTC and ROTS. Seems that 2013 is a big year for PT stuff, so can we expect to still see the products you had originally planned for the OT 3D films? With the sequel on the horizon, it seems did in 2014 is our only hope for a year full of OT greatness.

Most will come out on the way.

Is it possible that in the future (all) TRU exclusives are also released here in Germany? I'm thinking specifically of the speeder bike in the new Speeder Bike with Scout Trooper set.

Hasbro has no influence on it. This is due to the dealers.

What is the future of big vehicles?

The future is "bright," as Jeff said.

The Amazon exclusive "canceled look" figures are sold as a set. I think it's a good concept. But it also contains a previously unreleased 212th Clone Tooper. Will this appear again on a regular card as part of the Black Series? I, as a member of Troopbuilder Group, would have like more than one.

It's not planned.

And here is probably a little annoying question: would it be possible that some characters (especially troopers) be released in a "solid case" to be released and distributed over a selected dealer? Many collectors would search a little easier. And the Troopbuilder would cheer.

Answer was a maybe, after I made it clear again that the dealer would sell 12 Trooper has orders 12 cases, and depending also gets 12 Vader, thus the prices of Trooper be upgraded to make more profit, so the loss balance of slow-selling figures. Ideal would be dependent Solid cases and continue the normal sorting. So that the dealer just has more game. They understood it to no win / win situation.
(Not completely sure how to edit that one . . .)

Furthermore, we asked the question why one should collect further if the availability is poor and the collectors here have big holes in their collections. To build here on the collaboration with Disney and promised himself that things will change. We will be surprised with what is planned and how this is implemented. Focus are the new movies.

We thank Jeff and Jin that they have taken the time for us.

Update 30.07.13 We're getting another email from D. DePriest as to the Rise of Darth Vader sets. The reason why it will not come to us is because that the regulations for the Europe. Market has changed, so it is no longer possible to bring characters with non-replaceable batteries to the market. Thank you M.. T EU.